Full Circle
by CSLew
Summary: Post 5x24, Blair chose Chuck and Dan left for Rome alone. So what happens when they all gather back to New York?
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fanfic so I hope I don't disappoint. _

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Blair's back in New York because Serena has disappeared. They search her room, but can't find any clues. Nate thinks it's best to ask Dan for help who is back to New York as well. Her stomach begins to unsettle at the thought of Dan. He hasn't returned any of her calls and seems to want nothing to do with her.

They knock on the loft door and are surprised to see Rufus opening it. Blair had forgotten about the divorce and her mind drifts off to how awful of a friend she must have been to Dan. She left him at the worst time.

"Hey Rufus, is Dan here," Nate asks

Rufus gives them a welcoming smile and grabs his jacket. "He's in his room, I'll give you guys some privacy."

Rufus steps out of the loft as they step in. It looks exactly the same as she remembers it. Nate calls out Dan's name while she feels Chuck slide his arm with hers and pulls her closer to his body. The door to Dan's bedroom opens and a skinny boy walks out. The first thing she notices is his hair. He cut his hair and looks a lot better, but he's skinner and looks weaker then she remembers. Was it because of her?

"Hey man," Nate greets

Dan's eyes never go to her or Chuck, they only stay at Nate. It looks as though he's ignoring their presence.

Dan sighs, sounding tired. "What do you guys want?

"Dude, it's Serena. No one's seen her since May," Nate tells him

The news doesn't seem to affect Dan one bit, which isn't like the Dan she knew.

"Serena can drop dead for all I care," Dan says

Her eyes widen and her nostrils flare at his attitude. How dare he say something so callous? This is Serena, the girl he once loved. His former step-sister.

"Drop the attitude Humphrey. There's no reason to take your frustrations out on her," she tells him

Dan finally looks at her. His eyes display fatigue and annoyance.

"Me and Serena aren't in the best of terms. She manipulated me into sleeping with her while you were professing your love to Chuck," Dan answers and shakes his head just thinking about it. "She actually videotaped it. So I think Serena might be the last person you want to see right now."

Chuck lips curl into a humorous smile and she rolls her eyes to his response

Blair then looks at Dan in disbelief. "I can't believe you! You're such a hypocrite!"

Dan shrugs his shoulders. "Sure."

That's his only response. He doesn't seem to have any fight in him which is something somewhat disappointing.

"Anyways, I would really appreciate it if you guys left," Dan says and pulls open the door.

"Come on man, this is Serena we're talking about," Nate reasons

"She's not a part of my life anymore and neither are any of you. My dad's done with the Upper East Side, and so am I," Dan replies before leaving the front door open and heading into his room.

The room falls quiet and they all seem surprised with his words. Oh well, they're better off without him.

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They leave the loft, but instead of continuing on the search for Serena, Blair decides to head back to her penthouse. She's not ready to forgive Serena for her actions, she doesn't know if she ever will be. Speaking with Dan only confirmed that she made the right decision in choosing Chuck. Dan didn't have faith in their relationship and chose Serena, not that it matters, she's so over him.

She spends the next few weeks concentrating on Chuck and Waldorf Designs, but work is becomes overwhelming and there is too much pressure on her for to keep her side of the pact. She faints and Dorota begins to worry.

It's just like it was before. Her and Chuck just don't work anymore and she's realizing this because they aren't able to have sex anymore. She does spend time with Chuck, but it's not the same as it was when they were younger. He's mature and boring. She doesn't even know what Chuck likes to do in his free time. When they were younger, he liked to party and do drugs, but now, the only thing he seems to care about is Bass Industries.

It becomes clear that she's outgrown Chuck and it's finally time to move on. It's like she forgot what it felt like to be with Chuck and she's disappointed in herself for giving everything up for him.

She tells her mother she isn't interested in running Waldorf Designs anymore and plans to enroll back to Columbia for spring semester. She hates running the company and it was something she never wanted to do. She just wanted to be equals with Chuck, which sounds sort of pathetic to her now.

There's a lot of free time left in her hands now that she doesn't have her mother's company or Chuck. Serena comes back from a broken engagement, but Blair ignores the rest of her story and throws her out once again. After spending weeks going over her relationship with Serena, she comes to the conclusion that they are officially done.

She checks up on Lonely Boy every once in a while. He's seen with a new girl every week on Gossip Girl. It seems he's enjoying the single life, so she burns her copy of Inside. An hour passes and she orders Dorota to buy her another copy. This time, Dorota buys her an E-book. Dorota can be quite clever sometimes.

Nate tells her Dan's been ignoring his calls which she deems interesting. Humphrey is serious about ignoring them. This doesn't sit well with Blair. He has quite the gall on him to act like he's better than them.

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Dan spent the summer sulking and working in the Rome writing workshop, but now that he's back in New York, he is ready to move on with his life.

He goes back to NYU just to be a regular kid again. His roommates name is Charles, and he sees the irony in that. Charles is a regular t-shirt and jean sort of fellow who's just as laid back as him. The friends he's already made at NYU are happy to see him back.

The first night on campus starts out with a huge blowout where he meets Christy. She's blonde, tan, skinny with a model frame, and has long legs. He chugs his beer can and tosses it to the side before walking up to her.

"Hi, I'm Dan. Matt's friend," Dan introduces himself

"Christy," she looks at him warily.

Christy's way too pretty to be just a one night stand. Maybe if she was a freshman, he would have a chance, but currently, his chances look slim. This girl is more for the long haul. He can't be aggressive and has to work his way up.

"You're Kate's roommate right?"

"I am"

Dan's lips curve into a smile. "Cool."

It's out there now, they're officially linked to each other, meaning she thinks they have the same group of friends, which changes everything. Christy's going to be friendlier and it opens the window for friendship.

"I live on the same floor, you should pop in sometime," Dan tells her. "With Kate of course."

"Yeah, of course. Same goes for you," Christy says

He's so in. Christy's going to ask Kate about him and Kate's going to spill the beans. They'll talk about how he's an author and the ex-boyfriend of Blair Waldorf and Serena Van Der Woodsen.

They say their goodbyes and he heads toward the direction of the keg. As he pours a cup of beer, his eyes look over the room until they stop at a cute girl checking him out.

He just found tonight's prey.

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_I think some might believe Dan's POV is strange and not very Dan, but it was written to show what's going through his head and how he has changed since Blair broke his heart. In my head, I always imagined Blair figuring out she was better then Chuck. I truly believe that she would come to her senses and realize her and Chuck don't belong together. I'm one of those rare people who actually think DB are meant to be. _


	2. Chapter 2

_This Chapter flies by but it's only because I want to reach a certain point in a story. I will only post the next chapter if I get enough reviews because it's not worth writing if people aren't enjoying it. Also, I promise the next chapter will be longer. _

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Dan's fling of one night stands end when he finally hooks up with Christy. It took him two months of hanging out and aimless flirting for them to finally kiss, but when they did kiss, it changed everything. He was finally out of the funk he was in after Blair made her decision.

Before he can ask Christy out, there are a few things he needs to do.

He leaves for the loft to gather all of the items Blair left in his loft. All of her dresses, jewelry, heels, and even shampoo's she had left in the past were packed. Anything that reminds him of Blair is placed in a box. After everything's been collected, he calls Dorota and has her pick up the box.

The box is packed, but he still has one more thing left to do. Dan grabs his laptop and places it on his study desk. After taking a moment to make sure he's making the right decision, he logs on and deletes everything he had ever written about Blair.

It's all gone and he's left alone knowing he's over Blair Waldorf.

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It's hard to appreciate someone when they're always there, but now that he's gone, they miss him dearly. Life without Dan has affected everyone in their own ways. Nate doesn't have a friend he can just sit and talk with anymore. Chuck can only give Nate a black diary filled with numbers and she sees the void in Nate's life.

Serena's a mess without her white knight. She drinks and parties. College is an afterthought and there is no need for a job because she has her trust fund. Lily's beginning to worry with Serena's out of control behavior, but she's 21 and free to do whatever she chooses to.

Blair feels lonely. Like there is a part of her missing. Everything is back to the way it was in high school. She fight's for everything she earns, but she's doing it without any support. Serena can continue to apologize profusely, but it won't change a thing. The diary was something she could get over, but sleeping with Dan is the end of their friendship.

Right now, hate is the only word she can use to describe her feelings for Dan. Everything else she is feeling is better to push away. He ignored her phone calls for the whole summer and pretended to be above her. All the guilt was on her and he never thought it would've been important to mention the fact that he slept with Serena. He knows how she feels about Serena. It's written in _Inside _and he had helped her confirm her biggest insecurity.

She's in Serena's shadow.

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If there was one positive he could take out of dating Blair, Dan would say that it improved his writing. A broken heart makes for better writer.

Before, he wrote for fun and it was his passion. But now, his father's divorced and doesn't have much money lying around. Writing has become a living instead of a joy. It's all on him. When he isn't spending his free time with Christy, he's writing the next great American Novel.

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Lily looks miserable. Blair can't help but notice the tired eyes Lily's holding and in those eyes, she saw the future that she was close to having.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Chuck says interrupting her from her thoughts.

Blair frowns and Chuck smirks. "I would prefer it if you left me alone."

"I can't."

The smell of alcohol coming from his breath is the first warning of trouble. She pulls him aside and away from the rest of guests invited to Bart's place.

"You can push me away all you want, but in the end, you'll come back to me," Chuck continues

"I hope not," Blair says softly and sadly.

Chuck grabs a hold of her waist and presses her closely. "Are you sure about that?"

She pushes him off and glares.

"Are you insane," Blair scolds under her breath. "Get your hands off me."

"You chose me! We agreed we were all in! How could you think I would be okay with this?"

Chuck's yelling causes a scene and everyone's eyes are on them. Her cheeks redden from embarrassment and chatter growing in the room as gossip becomes to spread.

Bart comes over and in a gentlemen sort of manner, he kicks her out of the party and she's left alone on New Year's Eve with three hours to kill before the ball drops.

Blair arrives in a Brooklyn diner where Dan would take her sometimes late at night when nothing else was open. There is no chance of anyone finding her there. It's New Year's Eve and the last thing she needs is gossip spreading about her not having anything to do for when the ball drops.

Her mouth opens when she sees Dan sitting with a blonde in a booth and smiling. Her pulse begins to race and her nerves are making her feel uneasy. They haven't spoken to each other since the day he kicked them out of the loft and she still hasn't given the stuff he had left over her penthouse back.

Her small fingers curl into fists because she doesn't need any drama right now. Although, she is intrigued to see his reaction of her being in the diner.

When he turns his head in her direction, his eyes stay on her for a brief moment before going back to the blonde. Her brows furrow in confusion for the lack of acknowledgment. He's acting as if they were strangers and she finds it rather annoying.

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Dan likes Christy's laugh. It helps him keep his mind off the familiar brown eyes that are on him from the corner of the diner. Christy has brown eyes as well, but there is a mix of green in them. She has a mole right above the corner of her lip which he considers to be a beauty mark. It's pretty sexy, but everything's sexy about Christy. The fact that she knows she's sexy makes her more sexy.

There's this part of Christy in where she is a little above it all. It's not that she's a bitch, it's that she knows her looks hold a certain power. Everything else about her is great.

"Come on," Christy whines with those pleading eyes that make him soften his stance.

"So you would rather spend New Year's Eve getting hammered and forgetting about the kiss we're going to have the instant the ball drops, then spending a sober night with me at this diner," Dan questions.

"Yes, and hopefully there are many more to come."

Dan smiles and takes her hand before leaving the booth and heading out the door.

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Blair finally begins school. Her winter break was the worst, but now she's in school and it's an opportunity to make a new group of friends.

She tries to fit in, but it doesn't work. It's nothing like high school and she feels like she's a freshman in NYU all over again.

Dating isn't an option. A man will only be a distraction from her goal, and that's to become a successful magazine editor, hopefully something in fashion. Most of her weekends are spent studying the extra courses she's taken on so she can graduate early. She has very little free time, but when she does, she goes to watch a movie or heads for the museum and tries not to think of what Brooklyn would say.

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Leaving the nightclub, Dan and his friends try to squeeze into a cab when he hears yelling coming from outside the door of the entrance to the nightclub. He glances over to see Blair shouting at a Serena who is sitting on the floor, holding on to her knees with her arms.

He tells his friends he'll catch another cab and when they leave, he heads in Serena's direction to look to see if they're okay.

Nine months have passed since he had spoken to Serena and his anger towards the girl has cooled off. He doesn't follow Gossip Girl so he's out of the loop when it comes to the latest UES drama.

Blair stops talking and his heart is begins to race the instant their eyes meet. She looks a little timid as he comes closer and her breathing begins getting heavier. Serena looks up and gives him a dumbfounded face the minute she realizes it's him.

Dan kneels down to be on the same eye level as Serena. "What's wrong?"

Serena looks away and ignores his question. Dan kneels back up and turns over to Blair. It's had been so long since he had been that close to her. Her milky skin is as flawless as ever and the scent coming from her hair is only drawing him closer.

"Is everything alright?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for the reviews, there always a joy to read. I will say this chapter isn't great, but it helps me get to the direction of the story I'm aiming for. If you are confused or mad, don't worry because it will all make sense once the story reaches a certain point._

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"Is everything alright," he asks looking at Blair.

Dan has difficulty reading through the situation. He knows it's a mess from the way Serena is sitting against the wall and holding on to her knees.

Blair doesn't answer, instead chooses to fold her arms across her chest and look away. Dan sighs and rubs the back of his head.

"What do you want," Serena asks coldly.

Their last conversation wasn't the most pleasant. He said some hurtful things to Serena and heard it only led to her overdosing.

In response, Dan shrugs his shoulder and sets his eyes on his shoes. "It looks like something was wrong and I just wanted to see if you were okay."

There is a set of brown eyes on him that he's attempting to ignore, but it's impossible when she keeps shifting closer and closer to him.

"Just tell me Serena," Dan says, wanting to get into the thick of things.

Serena looks down for a bit and swallows before tilting her head up to meet his eyes. "My mom's threatening to cut me off."

"Why," he probes in a soft comforting voice.

"She thinks my life is going nowhere fast," Serena replies

"Not to mention the drugs," Blair chimes in.

He runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath to try and not overreact.

Dan sighs. "Oh Serena." He bends his knees to get down and be on the same eye level as Serena. "I remember writing about sunshine when I was younger."

"That was a long time ago."

He shakes his head because he cold heartily disagrees. "It wasn't, I saw glimpses of it last year."

Serena looks away and doesn't say a word. The wind blows her hair and it becomes impossible to see her face as her eyes are down the street.

"Why don't you come over and we'll talk," he offers. Rather than waiting for Serena to respond, Dan lifts himself back up and glances over to Blair. "Tell Lily she's staying with me."

All he receives from Blair is a nod. Her lips are pursed but there is a hint of a frown. She leaves his eyes and walks in the other direction, then glances over her shoulder one last time before leaving him completely alone with Serena.

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Embarrassment is what Serena feels when Dan asks her what drugs she has been doing. He's giving her that caring look that wants her to change and get better just for him.

_Heroin, Cocaine, and Ecstasy _are some of the drugs that come first to mind. There is a long list of others, but she hasn't used them as much.

He hands her a mug of coffee and crosses one leg over the other. He's just as beautiful as she remembers, both inside and outside. She remembers kissing that rigid jaw and how good it felt underneath her fingers.

A buzzing sound rings in her ears and she glances over to the coffee table to see Dan's cell phone vibrating. He chooses to ignore it and keeps his eyes on her, staring at her intently and trying to get a clue as to what went wrong.

Dan sighs and leans over his knees, staring at the wall ahead and over her shoulder. "You know I thought about writing a novel that wouldn't hold anything back."

"You did?"

Dan clenches his jaw and nods. "You weren't the only one to have an awful summer." Dan shakes his head at the thought. "It's kind of lame for you to use your loneliness as an escape to drugs just like it would've been lame of me to write a trashy Novel exposing those once close to me just to gain some recognition."

"She really hurt you didn't she," she asks

"She never even broke up with me," he confides in a soft slightly hurt voice. "I thought we were friends."

Right at that moment, Serena thinks about telling Dan what Blair told her. How Blair did love him, but wanted to say those three words to the person she knew she was going to be with for the rest of her life. It didn't make sense at the time and it still doesn't. Serena really thought Blair would chose Dan and it was why she sent Penelope to distract Blair.

"I'm sorry Dan, but she's always been a heartless and from what I saw, she never treated you as a friend," Serena tells him.

"I can't disagree, I was clearly wrong about her but I guess she made the right decision." Dan's eyes widen at the thought. "Could you have imagined her walking in on us?"

"I know, I feel awful about it too." Serena places the mug on the coffee table. "Have you spoken to her since?"

Dan raises both his brows and shakes his head. "No, I seriously hate everything about her now and she probably feels the same way, so I suppose we're back where we started."

Serena reaches for his hand and tries to give him comforting eyes. "And it shouldn't matter. You were so happy before her. All she has ever done is brought you misery."

Dan nods and his lip quirks into a sad smile.

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Blair can't get any sleep. It's one of those nights were her old memories are over flooding her brain and she's questioning the decisions she's made in the past because of it. Yale and Chuck are the first things that come to mind.

Seeing Dan was frustrating to say the least. After everything Serena did, he chose to help her. To reach out even. What bothers her most is the way he looked at her tonight. It's become official, he sees her the same way Chuck saw her when they dated.

Tossing her duvet off, she stomps over to her closet and pulls out a lockbox. From the lockbox, she pulls out the tiara Dan gave her and stares at it. She lets out a sad sigh and thinks about how different their relationship is now. He can't stand her and she's pretending to be angry based on principles.

Principles of what though?

There is this internal battle she has where yes, he slept with Serena, but he was manipulated into doing so. It was more of an act on revenge then actual feelings for her ex-best friend. She's come to the point where she laughs now because she probably would've done the same thing if she was in the same situation.

She looks over the pictures and frown's thinking of their relationship. Dan was a big part of her life. He was more important than Serena, Nate, or Chuck. There are times where she plays hypothetical situations in which Chuck takes place of Dan. Her mind drifts off thinking of how Chuck would have reacted if she was pregnant with Dan's baby while being engaged to Louis.

She does that a lot now, comparing the two.

The last item she pulls out is an excerpt from Dan's latest novel which hasn't been released as of yet. It was posted on Vanity Fair and it leaves off where she left him in Rome. There isn't one word mentioned of her. She's sort of left in the imagination of the reader.

Reliving the past with her memories hurts because it's more embarrassing than anything else. It's difficult to show her face or look at him because she's reminded of the things she said, like there was nowhere else she would rather be then in Rome by his side.

That promise was broken and so was the only genuine bond she had left.

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The next day, Dan takes Serena back to his dorm room where she meets his roommate Frank, a pale boy with long brown hair and a long nose. The only thing Frank had going for him was his height and humor.

"Serena, Frank. Frank, Serena," Dan introduces them.

He lets them greet each other and moves to the closet to look for a set of new clothes.

"You drinking tonight," Frank asks

The last thing Serena needed was a night with him and his friends getting wasted.

"Can't, I'm chilling with Nate and Serena," Dan replies.

Frank goes to tie a red bandana around his head. "Are you sure you want to miss out on this?" Frank points to the red bandana.

Dan laughs lightly and shakes his head. He changes his shirt and takes Serena to meet Christy because there is no way he is not introducing his girlfriend to the ex he is going to be spending his night with.

Christy is friendly and even complements Serena's heels. They seem to have a lot in common and hit it off immediately.

Christy chooses to go to a party and he senses no jealousy. He isn't jealous either because they trust each other. For the first time, he feels like he's in a relationship where they can do their own thing and it doesn't interfere with their relationship. They're equals and it's nice to be in that sort of relationship.

It's one of the things he thought he would have with Blair, but he soon realized they weren't equals. Blair wanted to run Waldorf Designs and be with someone equally powerful.

After Dan introduces Serena to his group of friends, they leave to meet Nate at the loft. When they reach the loft, they find Nate sitting on the stoop, holding a box of pizza.

"Hey man," Nate says and lifts himself up. "It's been a long time."

He missed Nate. There isn't a doubt in his mind that he missed Nate more than anyone. The only person he had ever trusted from the UES was Nate.

They head back into the loft and unfortunately, Dan lets the two blondes choose the movie. He gets stuck the unanimous decision of watching American Reunion.

Right when Dan is about to the play the movie, Nate calls for his attention.

"We have to wait for Blair," Nate says.

His mood is officially ruined. The regret of letting Serena stay in his place is already hitting him.

"How could you invite her without asking me," Dan asks looking at Nate questionably.

Nate tries to smile it off like it's not a big deal. "Come on man, it's not like I invited Chuck."

"It is like you invited Chuck. I'm going to be sitting here having to listen to her talk about him," Dan replies.

Nate's brows furrow in confusion and he glances over to Serena who matches the questionable expression on his face.

There's finally some peace and harmony in his life, but it's become clear that wasn't meant to last.

Blair arrives and begins going on about herself. He rolls his eyes and watches Law & Order while everyone else is having a good old time listening to Blair's summer in France when she was running Waldorf Designs and he was alone in Rome.

It feels like the worst night of his life. Blair laughs and it's like she's having the time of her life. Everything about her is arrogant. The way she takes a sip of her wine is arrogant. She tells them about her night in Montecito and he rubs his forehead from hating his life at the moment.

It's obvious he looks like the bitter one. Everything seems to be going great for Blair and it sucks. The right thing to do is be happy for her, but he can't be.

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Sitting on the old sofa she used to find utterly disgusting, Blair watches American Reunion with the rest of the gang. Dan's been awfully quiet and the frown on his lips won't leave. Throughout the whole night, Nate and Serena are the only ones who talk. Dan sits by them and acts like this is the last place he wants to be. They laugh and Dan joins them, but it's more for show than anything else. With the way he's acting, she's regretting her decision to come. In all honesty, she's only here because Nate practically begged her to. Nate wants everything to be the way it used to be, but that's looking more and more like a longshot.

She wishes she had someone complain about this movie with. Surely Dan isn't enjoying it. So she decides to stare at him because the movie can't keep her attention.

His hair is different. She likes his new wave hairstyle. He still has nice lips and a good sized head. Her constant staring is ruined when Serena elbows her and glares. She glares back and her eyes drift back to the movie.

An opportunity represents itself when Dan leaves for the bathroom. She waits outside the bathroom door to corner him. He opens the door and tries to walk past her but she quickly shuffles her feet to block his way.

"What are you doing?"

Blair narrows her eyes at him. "What's your problem?"

"You're in my way," he answers.

He tries to go the other direction but she is too fast for him. She smirks and enjoys playing this game.

She points her index finger on his chest. "You trying to act indifferent towards me, but it's clear I still have an effect on you," she gloats and makes sure her dimples are showing because she knows how much he loves them.

She was expecting him to join in and play back, but it ends up having the opposite effect. His forehead creases in in annoyance there is a fire in his eyes she's never seen before.

"What do you think is going to happen if you keep rubbing it in my face?"

Blair looks a little baffled. "Rubbing what? What are you talking about?"

He leans in, eyes watery. "How amazing your summer without me was."

Dan always cuts to the chase and leaves no room for games which annoys her. He tries to walk away but she grabs his wrist firmly and meets his eyes.

"I just wanted to see your reaction," she explains softly.

Dan shakes his head and pulls his wrist away. He starts walking away and she tries to get grip of anything, but it's obvious he won't have any of it.

She watches him storm out and she's left with looks of disapproval from Nate and Serena.

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Serena's eyes flutter open to the aroma of pancakes. She leaves Jenny's room and heads for the kitchen to find waffles in the waffle iron.

Dan smiles. "Hey." Serena rubs her eyes and sits on the stool in front of the island. "So I'm in sort of a hurry. I have class soon and I live on campus." Before she can respond to thank him and leave, Dan puts both his hands up. "But I've spoken with Lily and she's okay with you staying here for as long as you need."

"You'll let me stay here?"

Dan's brows furrow. "Of course." He tosses his apron to the side. "I'm going to take a shower, but help yourself."

Dan leaves for his bathroom and she pulls out a waffle from the waffling iron. After pouring a little syrup, she takes a forkful of the waffle and moans to the taste.

Her appreciation of his cooking is ruined when Dan receives a phone alert. Serena looks at the phone screen and notices that it's an email from Blair.

_Missing __someone hurts, but what hurts even more is knowing you're the reason they're gone._

_If you love me, you'll call me_

_-B _

Serena's jaw tightens. She erases the email and places Dan's cellphone back on the island.


	4. Chapter 4

_Wow, I really enjoyed reading the reviews! Unfortunately, I don't think this chapter will be up to par since I am horrible at writing angst, but this chapter is necessary to get to the next chapter._

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"Rock and Roll," Frank yells before he jumps off the roof of Nate's beach house and into the pool.

Dan laughs as he wipes the droplets of water off his cheeks. The year flew by and summer was here. He spent very little time outside of NYU territory, but then Nate invited him to the Hampton's and left him no room to say no.

Serena has been the only person he has remained in contact with from his previous life, but when Nate called, he found it tough to say no.

With the school year ending, some are going back home, while others are taking summer classes and staying in New York. The party's thumping and even Chuck pays a visit. His mood is high but when he enters the house, his mouth opens.

There she is, the brunette that once strung his heart around like no one else. She doesn't see him because he makes sure of it, and it feels nice to stare at her without her knowing.

It's NYU all over again. She's there, scoping out the party and looking a little out of place. She looks perfect, but this is the real world, and it looks just as new to her as it did when he took her to the rooftop party. That was when he slowly started looking at her differently. His perception of her only changed mildly, but it eventually grew into something he hopes in finding again with someone else.

He can't believe how much of the way he looks at her has changed because of one decision she made. The phone calls and emails in the summer surely didn't help. It also never helped with the way she would stare at him when they dated and how fake those images appear now.

After he began dating Christy, it became time to accept the truth. His relationship with Blair was one-sided. It took him a whole year to finally be able to stare at Blair and not feel any anger or hate. It feels more like she is a stranger who he can look back on and laugh at how stupid he was for going the lengths that he did for her.

He steps through the people filling the living room until he reaches Blair. She scrunches her nose at the sight of him and he shoves his hands in his pockets, holding a smile.

"What do you want," she asks coldly.

He leans in with lips curved. "I wanted to see if you were free for a dance."

Dan offers out his hand to take. In response, she arches a brow, but then sighs and her small fingers intertwine with his.

They could dance in the middle of the living room, but he thinks it would be better dancing out on the deck, where they would be alone and the fast paced music won't be ruining their slow dance.

He presses her chest against his and takes the lead. Blair lifts her head and swallows nervously, but sways in rhythm with him. They're ignoring the music blasting from the house and living in their own world, not leaving each other's eyes.

His eyes want to shut from the familiar scent of shampoo coming from her hair which is disappointing. He had hoped she wouldn't still affect him in some way.

He knows she's probably wondering why he asked her to dance. They haven't spoken for months now, but what she doesn't know is he's leaving New York in two weeks. No one knows in actuality. He's already behind promoting his new book and there is no way he can go to school while having a newly released book. So this is kind of his way of saying goodbye to an old acquaintance.

"Why did you ask me to dance," she whispers and hides her head on his chest as they continue to sway together.

He just wanted one night with Blair, no drama or past, just trying to remember what he once saw in her. One of the things he always wanted to do with her was dance in an intimate setting, but their romance was so short-lived, a lot of the things he wanted with her remained uncrossed.

"You seem lonely," he replies softly.

"I'm not," Blair says, but only holds onto him tighter.

At the moment, his agent is dealing with a bidding war for the rights for _Inside_. He will soon be leaving and this dance will only be a memory that will eventually fade away.

"I hate you," she adds softly still hiding her head on his chest and can feel her little hands grasping onto the back of his shirt.

He glances back over to the house and sees Christy raising both brows. He whispers _I have to go_ in Blair's ear and heads in Christy's direction.

He follows his girlfriend all the over to the beach where they can be alone. Christy's pacing back forth and shaking her head. She's never looked more irate.

"When were you going to tell me," Christy demands and stops moving to look at him in the eyes.

She knows about L.A.

Dan looks away and shrugs. '"Soon."

"You didn't even consider us," she says in a tone of disbelief.

That catches his attention and it draws him back in the conversation. "What do you me to do? I don't have a choice."

"You didn't even ask me to come with you," she yells throwing her arms in the air.

"Because you still have a year left in NYU," he explains desperately.

Her head tilts back and she stares at him doubtfully. "We both know that isn't what's holding us back." Dan sighs and rubs the back of his head with his hand, looking down. "For some reason, I feel like you've been burned by someone in the past and I'm suffering because of it. You won't let me in!"

This is the problem. Being with Christy was amazing, but he wasn't comfortable letting her fully in. After everything that has happened to him, it feels impossible to give himself completely to someone.

"I love you," he says

"It's not enough." Christy shakes her head. "I'm tired of it and I don't need this. We're over." Christy storms off and he's left wondering what the fuck just happened.

The one thing he can't understand is how Christy knew about L.A.

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.

The party seems unaffected by the drama, but it caught Blair's attention. Christy has stormed out of the house and Dan is out on the beach discussing it with Serena. She pokes her head out on the deck and watches them from afar.

Serena hands rubs up and down Dan's back in a comforting manner as they stare out in the sea with the moon reflecting against the water. It's a very unsettling feeling to watch the two spending time together, but in the back of her head, she always thought Serena and Dan would be back together once she ran to Chuck. What came as a surprise is that nothing has happened since she left Dan.

The feeling is weird, because the more time she spends apart from Dan, the deeper she falls for him. As the memories of them together only build up the longing. Little things play in her head, like when he asked her to dance in Dorota's wedding. She knew he didn't have a clue about the hotel incident, and at the time, she didn't consider them being close. So when he could read how hurt she was, it was a little stunning.

She's hit with a wave of worry as Dan drinks from a liquor bottle. It was how Chuck dealt with his problems and watching Dan drink in that manner scares her.

She takes off her heels and steps onto the sand of the beach, heading towards them. Serena sees her before Dan and blocks her path as Dan looks straight ahead to the sea from afar and still holding that liquor bottle.

Serena puts out her hand to stop Blair. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"What I can't wrap around my head is the fact that he would rather speak to you than me," she says not looking to happy.

"He's not himself right now," Serena warns

"I can handle it," she disputes.

Serena gives her leeway to walk towards Dan, and she does, but to her dismay, Serena follows. She reaches Dan and glances over to her. His eyes are soft and hurt. She has no idea why Serena would think this is a bad idea.

"What are you doing here," Dan asks stepping closer.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," she says smiling a little. He doesn't smile, just stares and shakes his head a little. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"With our history, yeah," he replies and goes back to staring at the ocean.

She feels Serena's hand reach her shoulder. "Come on B, let's go."

Blair fights off Serena's hand and heads closer to Dan, feeling determined.

"Why are you drinking," she presses.

"Because it's a party," Dan says and laughs a little.

She glares, feeling highly annoyed because she's tired of the one trying to fix their relationship. After he didn't respond to her email, she was left with little hope, but that hope grew after they danced together and this thing with Christy was ruining it.

She grabs his shoulder and forces him to look at her. "I got a summer internship in Paris, and the reason I came to this party was to say goodbye. To hopefully make some progress with you so I would have something to look forward to in the fall. So don't you dare say I don't care."

"Why," he asks looking at her questionably.

"I was hoping we could begin again."

He smiles in disbelief. "Begin what? Our friendship?"

"Is that so outrageous," she yells, not expecting her voice to be that loud.

Dan looks at Serena for answers, but Serena looks away. His attention then moves back to Blair. "Why would I ever want to be friends with you?"

His words hurt more than they should and her eyelids begin to get warm from the tears building up.

"You spent the summer fucking Chuck without even breaking up with me in person. You didn't even try to contact me this whole year and now you want to be friends," he continues on, looking like he was on the cusp of breaking.

"I had sex with Chuck once! We had this sex pact where we couldn't have sex," she protests desperately as a tear slips down to her cheek.

The moment of angst and emotion stops as Dan's mouth opens and he scratches the top of his head in confusion. She knew he didn't follow Gossip Girl and had hoped he never heard of the news. It's embarrassing for her to have Dan see her in that light. A light where Chuck controlled everything and she was only there as trophy he had won over Dan.

She watches him spin around and step away to cool off. She thinks she hears him say _I can't fucking believe this_ under his breath.

Dan turns around. "The reason me and Christy are over is because I'm moving to L.A."

Her heart sinks after the words of L.A. leave his lips because she knows he's gone for good and moved on fully from them.

Blair looks down and plays with her hands. "I don't understand why you're pushing all of us away."

"Because there are more bad memories then good. I remember things like the way you treated Jenny after she slept with Chuck, or how Chuck tried to take advantage of Serena and nobody bothered to care." Dan throws his bottle out in the ocean and glances over to Blair. "I don't want to be a part of this world anymore."

She stands there and can only hear the waves of the ocean. There is nothing she can say or dispute because his view of them has changed for good. She remembers a time, before her and Dan were friends in where she felt like she deserved to be with Chuck. But then Dan became a big part of her life and all of those insecurities faded. Now, that same boy has given up on her and she feels like she's slowly dying inside because of it.

"You know." Dan pauses and drunkenly laughs at himself before he continues. "I remember writing _Inside _in my room one night. I was on the part of when you were a senior in high school, and I remembered having this sinking feeling. Like why did it ever get to this point?" Dan runs his hands through his hair and laughs a little. Blair starts to get worried because she knows he's in drunken confession mode. "It was the most painful thing I have ever written. I didn't even go to sleep that night." Dan meets her eyes. "But that was when I realized I loved you." Dan looks down as his he knits his brows together. "I didn't care that you slept with Carter or went on this downward spiral, none of that stuff mattered to me. All I cared about was making sure you never felt that way again."

"Dan," Serena says sadly to intervene and stop him.

Dan looks in Serena's direction. "I don't think I have ever been that way with anyone else."

Serena nods and closes her eyes. "I know. I was there."

Dan's attention turns to Blair. "I loved you more than I loved anyone. Even my dad," Dan says and voice breaks off a little.

Blair's eyes soften into sadness and her lip begins to quiver as she tastes the salt from her tears. The last thing she sees is a sad smile and he walks away. Her knees give out and she lands on the sand, crying into her hands.

* * *

_I know there wasn't much of Serena in this chapter, but she plays a big role in this story._


	5. Chapter 5

_As always, loved reading the reviews. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Blair does cry, when she's alone and the only person who can hear her is Dorota. It's her way of spilling out her emotions without having to discuss them with someone. It reminds her of how she would deal with things in High School.

She gives Dan what he wants, space away from them. Whatever they had in the past was surely over now. There wasn't any way of going back because she had already made her decision to be with Chuck. After she chose Chuck, her chapter with Dan was finished and she's beginning to understand that now.

Even with the horrible mood, Blair manages to pack her luggage. She doesn't say goodbye to anyone except Dorota and catches her flight to Paris where she rented out an apartment for the summer.

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Dan's hands are trembling. He's sitting in the airplane and waiting for takeoff as fear is overcoming him.

"Are you okay," asks the older woman sitting beside him.

He gives her a shaky smile. "I'm fine. It's just my going to be my first time in L.A."

The older woman smiles and goes back to flipping through her magazine. Dan swallows hard and leans back against his chair, thinking of what holds in his future.

The plane lands in LAX and he gets off to see his new agent waiting for him. Her name's Eliza Hall and it was unfortunate she had to replace Alessandra.

They shake hands and Eliza takes him to his new place. It's a penthouse on the 50th floor and the wall gives a great view of the city. His publishing firm paid for it and as long he can stay there as long as he keeps writing for them.

"What do you think," Eliza asks.

"I like it."

His first night in L.A. is boring. He doesn't know anyone so he orders in and watches the Lakers play on TV.

The next morning, he has a meeting with the production company he decided to sell the writes to _Inside_ to. They go over what their expectations are for the movie and which demographic their targeting. The budget for the film is higher than expected and it's pleasing to hear.

"Do you have any list of actresses you prefer?"

"Just not Olivia," he answers.

They ask him to pen the script and he agrees because it's more money coming his way. He already knows how he is going tweak the ending of the novel. The reason Charlie died in the novel was because he was devastated from losing Claire and being lonely, but instead of killing Charlie for the movie, he's going to have Claire run away from her wedding with Dylan, only to later go back to Charlie.

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The internship's demanding, but Blair can handle it. It's not like her previous internship where she's at war with the other interns. She learns one of the most important parts of a job is the working environment and how important it is to get along with your co-workers. The only way she would get fired is if she does a bad job. There isn't a competition because they all want the same thing, a successfully published magazine for the month. She supposes this is what everyone means by the Real World.

Her nights are spent with her co-workers. Most of them are older, but it's still fun. Sometimes they do simple things like have dinner or go to the movies. Other times they take her to parties she never would have considered attending when she was younger.

She's hit on constantly, and she gives them a chance and listens to what they have to say, but the night always ends the same way, with the boy's number in the trash. It's too soon for her to date. Her focus solely remains on finishing the internship then graduating in school December.

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"This is risky," Brad says, head producer of Paramount pictures.

He's sitting across from Brad, with only a table in-between them.

"I think it's a more realistic ending," Dan replies.

Brad leans in and scrunches his face questionably. "The core relationship is Claire and Dylan, but the way you chose to end the movie leaves little room for Dylan and Claire ever being together."

Dan leans back and crosses one leg over the other. "That's because I don't plan on writing a sequel. So think of the ending as an epilogue to the actual Novel."

"Let me make myself more clear. Write the same ending as _Inside_, or I'll get someone else who will," Brad tells him.

Dan sighs and nods. The meeting didn't' go exactly as planned, but he isn't surprised they weren't happy with the changes. There was a reason his book sold a lot of copies and tweaking that to them didn't make sense.

His phone rings and it's a New York area code, so he ignores it and gets into his car to drive away from the lot. He has been avoiding everyone from New York. Rufus calls a lot, but he never answers. However, he does make sure his father receives a check every two weeks.

He's been living in L.A. for 3 months alone now and things are beginning to pick up. After he's finished with penning the script, he's going to begin writing his next novel. He's already spent restless nights brainstorming ideas. One he favors in particular is writing a story that follows the day of a teenage boy whose family recently moved in the Upper Eastside.

The novel he had recently released was about a 21 year old writer being dumped by a nameless girl and spending the summer in Rome.

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Blair finally has sex. It's with William, a boy she had been seeing for the past 2 months while finishing up her last semester in Columbia. She glances over to a panting William who has left her unfinished. It's a little disappointing, but it is their first time so she supposes things might be a little different next time they try.

William was someone she met through Nate. At one time, he was Nate's closest friend from Columbia and the only reason she accepted a date was because his father is the Governor of New Jersey.

Now she's looking at William and regretting that decision. Her first instincts were right, she wasn't ready to date yet. She's too emotionally attached to Dan and still having to deal with aftermath of her relationship with Chuck.

She lies to William about having a big project she needs to go work on and leaves him to head for her penthouse.

Blair reaches her penthouse and pulls out her phone to call Dan. He never picks up, but at the moment, she hopes he will because she is in desperate need to talk to him.

"Hello," Dan says on the other side.

She puts her hand on her chest and takes a breath to remain calm while sitting down on the sofa in her living room.

"Hi." She leans back and shuts her eyes from the sound of his breathing. They let a minute pass and don't say a word, but she enjoys finally having him in some way.

"How was your internship," Dan asks breaking the silence.

It was an easy question to warm them up and make the conversation more at ease. So she plays along knowing he's putting out an effort for them to be somewhat normal again.

"Good I suppose, but I was getting tired of doing such insignificant tasks towards the end," she says.

She feels Dan smile on the other line. "The people receiving the coffee wouldn't consider it insignificant."

"It's something insignificant for Blair Waldorf to do," she corrects and then nods in satisfaction after she thinks her answer over.

Dan chuckles and she smiles blissfully from hearing it. "Oh Blair." She bites her lower lip from hearing him say her name in that way. "You are one of a kind."

"I know," she says and straightens out her skirt. "How is L.A.?"

"It's okay." There is a sigh and then some movement. "A little lonely I guess."

"I'm sure a little movie called Moonrise Kingdom can fix that," she proposes and leaves the couch to grab her laptop.

"Are you sure," he asks.

"Of course I'm sure Humphrey."

She opens the laptop and plays the movie. She tries to pay attention to the movie, but her mind is on his breathing or little quips made on the movie. They never have the opportunity to say bye because her eyes shut before the movie is even over.

Within a week, she has sex with William again and the results are worse, so she dumps him.

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Dan gives Paramount the script they want. Everyone congratulates him tells him about how his life is going to change. His only response is a shrug because the news isn't exciting to him. He was a different person when he wrote _Inside. _

He doesn't celebrate, rather choosing to stay in his penthouse to work. It's starting up again, that urge to write about Blair. He thought his faze of writing about Blair was over after he deleted everything he had written about her.

Due to his fear of being in writers block, he decides not to fight against it and writes about Blair. The memories of how her lips always displayed her feelings at the moment ran through his mind. He can't get the picture of how bright her eyes were when he put that tiara on her head. The images of those dimples broke his heart all over again.

His agent's beginning to get worried with his lack of social life. He doesn't go out much and hasn't dated anyone since Christy. He considers it a funk, but his agent thinks it's a wall he's created for himself, so she makes him go on a blind date.

Dan waits and waits for his date to come, and even considers ordering. Twenty minutes pass before she arrives at the table he is sitting. He looks up and his breath hitches a little to the familiar face. She's brunette and has milky skin. Her face is round, but skinny.

"Hi, I'm Dan" he introduces himself and waits for her to sit before he sits back down.

"Nice to meet you Dan. I'm Emma," she says.

"You look familiar. Aren't you in that high school TV show," he asks.

She smiles. "It's college now."

Emma Hart was recently casted as Clair for his movie and his smile only grew from the irony of the situation. His agent is clearly sending a message.

They look through the menu and share their orders with the waiter. It comes as a surprise to him that she is so down to earth and nice. Like really nice.

"Do you miss the New York," Emma asks.

"Once you leave the UES, you never look back," he tells her.

Thinking of New York only made him bitter. Like how everyone talks about Chuck's growth but don't realize he hasn't faced any adversity yet. They've forgotten about the time Chuck slept with Alessandra once he saw the picture of him and Blair kissing.

"Where are you from," he inquired and crinkles his brows in interest.

Emma meets his eyes and seems to appreciate the fact that he is taking an interest in learning more about her. "I'm from Florida. Which is obviously a lot different from Los Angeles." She laughs a little. "The thing you will learn about me is that I am nothing like the character I play on TV."

Dan takes a sip from his wine and smiles, being happy to hear she is nothing like the snobby girl she plays on television.

After finishing dinner, they reach outside the restaurant and wait for the valet's to get their cars. A Range Rover appears and Emma turns to him.

"This is my car," Emma says and points to the car. "I had a nice time."

"Me too" he agrees and watches the wind blow her perfect hair in the opposite direction.

"Unfortunately, I'll be out of town for a couple months. Shooting for my show begins in a few days," she explains and looks down shyly. "But I hope we can keep in touch."

He wants to sigh in relief. It's not that he doesn't like Emma because he really does, but he doesn't think he's ready to date yet.

Dan smiles naturally. "I hope so too."


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for taking so long to update. The last two reviews really pushed me to publish this chapter earlier. I know it's short, but I think it ends perfectly and I'm sure you guys will want more. As for Emma, there is a reason she is in the story, and I will explain further in the future. _

_You guys really don't know how much the reviews mean to me, so in short, thank you._

* * *

Blair's playing with the ice in her drink, but she does notice the boy staring at her from the corner of her eye. The dirty blonde bangs covering one of his eyes isn't usually her cup of tea, but she can't deny how good looking he is.

He slicks his thin hair back with one hand to get a better look and suavely strolls his way over to her.

"Do you mind if I sit here," the boy asks and gestures his hand over to the barstool

"I do in fact," she says and takes a sip from her drink.

He sits next to her anyway and makes sure to have his knees pointing at her. "How about we cut to the chase instead of playing these silly games?" Blair lifts an eyebrow to his way of speaking to her. "I think you find me attractive and that is killing you."

Blair sighs sarcastically. "If only."

"I'm Adam by the way."

Blair glances over to him. "Blair."

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Christmas is approaching so Dan buys ticket to New York. He tries to keep it under wraps because the only people he wants to spend the holidays with are Jenny and his father. Arriving in New York, the first thing he notices is the weather. It sucks, but if it snows, then the cold wouldn't feel so bad.

The plan was to surprise his father, so when he arrives, it becomes clear Rufus really wasn't expecting him. Dan opens the door to the loft and sees Lily sitting on a stool, laughing at something Rufus says.

He drops his bags and waves his hand hello as a greeting. Lily gives him an uncomfortable smile and quickly excuses herself from the loft which leaves him all alone with his father.

"What was she doing here," he asks and looks at his father in disbelief.

"She needs a friend right now," Rufus tells him.

Dan bites his cheeks and nods, trying to control his frustrations. "Yeah, I understand. Bart breaks her and your there to pick up the pieces."

"So I should be like you and throw everyone out of my life?" Rufus gets off the stool and steps towards him.

"It's better than being Lily's doormat," he says.

"I can't help who I love." Rufus places a hand on his shoulder. "Now come on, let me make you some waffles and you can catch me up on how Hollywood has been treating you."

They catch up and he starts feeling bad for his father. He realizes how lonely it must be in New York for Rufus.

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Because Lily couldn't keep his mouth shut, Serena visits. The next thing he knows, he's attending Nathaniel Archibald's Pre-Christmas bash. The girls are a little too young for him, but now he knows Nate has a certain type.

Him and Serena are arm and arm, and he's letting her lead the way.

"Tell me Dan, how much have you missed me," Serena asks, smiling brighter than the sun.

Dan smiles and shakes his head. "Let's get a drink and I'll tell you how much."

They do grab a drink, but a friend of Serena grabs her attention and he is left alone in a party where he doesn't know anyone. Dan sighs and looks around Nate's new place which is the ultimate bachelors pad.

He follows the quiet and lands in a long narrow hallway, except he now he knows why it was so quiet. A girl being pressed against the wall and having her neck ferociously attacked is what catches his eyes. He squints his eyes to get a better look and realizes that the girl is Blair with a dirty blonde gentleman.

Seeing the blonde that close to Blair doesn't hurt, because as long as Blair isn't with Chuck Bass, he's happy for her. She should be with whoever she loves and with someone who actually deserves her.

"Good for her," Dan says to himself and walks off holding a small smile.

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Dan arrives at the bar and orders another drink.

"Where have you been," Serena asks.

He turns around and looks at Serena. "I was just witnessing some hot and heavy romance in the back."

Serena's eyes gleam in interest. "Who?"

"Blair and some guy I've never seen before," he tells her.

"That guy's name is Adam and they've been dating for a while now."

"Are they serious," he can't help but ask.

Serena smirks. "Let's just say he's rocking her world."

Dan takes a sip from his drink. "I'm happy for her."

Serena's lips curve into a devilish smile. "Do you want to get out of here? Maybe bring a bottle of this fine champagne back to the loft?"

He bites his lower lip and nods. "Okay."

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Blair's eyes flutter open and she stretches out her arms. There is a blissful smile on her lips as her night was close to perfect. She slides off her bed, making sure not to wake Adam up and heads for the bathroom.

Brushing her teeth, she notices some noise coming from Serena's room. She opens the door and sees Serena sneaking into her room while wearing the dress from last night. Somehow, some way, her friendship with Serena began again and they were roommates once more.

Blair raises an eyebrow and leans against the bathroom doorframe. "Looks like someone had a good time last night."

Her voice surprises Serena and leads the blonde to flinch. "God you scared me B." Serena puts a hand on her pounding chest.

"Don't look so guilty S, it happens to the best of us," she says and sits on an ottoman which is on the end of the bed. "So who is the lucky boy?"

"No one you know," Serena tells her and walks into her closet. "I actually need to catch up on some sleep, so if you don't mind."

Blair's brows knit together from the rudeness Serena is displaying. She gets the hint and goes back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

Serena is acting odd, but maybe she's embarrassed. Blair can't remember the last time Serena actually slept with someone so maybe that is the reason for her strange behavior.

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She gives a quick goodbye kiss to Adam and skips her way over to breakfast. Serena joins her which is odd again. An hour ago, Blair was practically kicked out of Serena's room because she needed some sleep, but now, here Serena is, having breakfast with her.

She eyes Serena skeptically and Serena only ignores the looks she's giving her. Suddenly, she hears the elevator and glances over her shoulder to see Nate walking in, and to her surprise, Dan is right behind him. Her heart rate jumps and her jaw drops.

Dan gives her a shy wave with his hand.

Dam him. She should hate him, but it's impossible to as her heart softens at the sight of him.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing Dan along," Nate says and starts looking through the breakfast on her table.

Blair shakes her head, still in shock. "No, not at all."

She does notice Dan smiling at Serena and it pisses her off. Where did that come from?

"I ran into Adam downstairs," Dan says and takes a seat next to a shy smiling Serena. "He's one cool cat."

Blair's brows knit together in confusion. "How do you know about Adam?"

"Well he did catch you two getting all hot and heavy last night," Serena snorts.

She shuts her eyes in deep annoyance. The last thing she expected was Dan Humphrey popping back in her life.

Blair sips on her tea and meets Dan's eyes. "In all honesty, it's not very serious."

Dan smiles and raises his hands up in defense. "It's okay, you don't have to spare my feelings."

What the hell is he talking about? She had only been dating Adam for a month. Before she can question Dan, Serena interrupts and goes on about some new photo shoot she has.

Blair does not care for Serena's modeling career. In fact, she finds it to be boring. The only thing holding her attention at the moment is Dan.

"Where exactly where you last night," she interrupts Serena and the whole table becomes quiet because of it.

Dan points to himself. "Me?"

"Yes, I don't recall seeing you at Nate's," she says.

Dan blushes and smiles as he meets Serena's eyes, who hides her face from Blair. "Me and Serena left early."

Her hands are under the table and turning into clenched fists. She's losing control of her emotions and her blood is boiling at a rapid pace. If there is one thing she knows for sure, it's that she is going to kill Serena.

"You fucking slut," Blair says, looking at Serena in disgust.


	7. Chapter 7

Dan's mouth falls open and the sound of silverware dropping and hitting the plates is heard. She does not care what anybody thinks because her blood is boiling and she's on the verge of throwing a croissant at Serena's head.

"I think I should leave," Nate says and he begins to stand up and off the chair.

Dan stands up as well and he grabs her arm to lead her into the living room, but not before Blair gets a hold of a sausage and throws in Serena's direction as Dan is pulling her.

They reach the living room and Dan is standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What the hell was that," Dan asks.

She folds her arms across her chest as well and lifts her chin high. "I don't have to answer to someone who is just as disgusting as her."

She notices him looking a little nervous and it's obvious his throat is tightening.

"Do you have feelings for me?"

How is it possible for him not to know how she feels?

"Didn't you read my email?"

He looks at her quizzically. "Which email are we talking about here?"

Blair's eyes shut as she gathers everything in. It all comes to her and only makes her more irritated. "Serena's manipulating you and you're just letting her get away with it."

"I don't care about Serena. I care about why me sleeping with Serena bothers you," he tells her.

"I care because you're mine Dan," she shouts, and she can hear the echoes of her voice due to the quietness surrounding them. Dan recoils from her voice and she shuts her eyes and takes a deep breath to try and regain control of her emotions. "I would like you to leave."

"Bla-"

She puts her hand out to stop him. "I don't care. Just leave."

His face saddens, but he nods and leaves. In the background, she hears the elevator reach her floor and concludes Dan has left.

Serena doesn't give her much space to think for herself as she enters the living room right after Dan leaves with Nate. The bitch has some gall on her. She had spent numerous nights' opening up to Serena and telling her how she feels about Dan and this is how little Serena respected their friendship. Serena couldn't have even given her a warning?

"We're done. Pack your things and get out," she tells Serena.

"Fine, but I will say you would've done the same thing if you were in my position," Serena replies.

She rolls her eyes and heads up the stairs to her room. This time, she doesn't cry over Dan. Rather, she chooses to come up with a plan to make him feel the way she is feeling now. She knows it's childish and something the old Blair would do, but she is not going to let Dan get away with making her feel like this.

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Dan finishes up the breakfast he couldn't have during his visit to Blair's. The door to his loft opens and he glances over to see Serena coming in.

He notices the luggage's and frowns. "What happened?"

"Blair threw me out," Serena says and shakes her head.

He gets off the stool and takes the luggage from her hand. "You can stay in Jenny's room."

Serena gives him a seductive smile and leans in. "Or I can stay in yours."

His brows furrow in question. "What?"

He's not going to lie, he's worried what Serena means. They did make out last night, but he was drunk and considered it to be some harmless good old fun.

"Last night was only a hook up right," he asks, making sure it's nothing more.

Serena tilts her head and her smile fades. "If you mean a hook up that leads to something more, then yes."

He scratches the back of his head nervously and becomes overweighed with concern. "Ummm…..I'm not really looking to be in a relationship right now."

"Or do you mean a relationship with me?"

He shrugs his shoulders and looks away. "I thought we were friends."

Her eyes begin welling with tears and her lips are shaking. He feels bad, but going down that road with Serena is pointless because he knows where it ends. She storms off or runs away and he hopes she doesn't pull the same act she did last time.

.

.

.

Adam's painting while Blair's sitting in his studio apartment and sipping from her glass of wine. She's too busy thinking of how to destroy Dan to notice Adam painting shirtless.

"I told Nate we'll meet him at the empire," Adam tells her.

That grabs Blair's attention. "Why?"

"I'm a fan of Dan's. His last book had traces of Hemmingway," he tells her and she rolls her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," she sighs.

She needs to wear something revealing and risqué. She is going to make sure Dan knows what he's missing out on.

.

.

.

Arm and arm with Adam, she makes arrives at the Empire. Right away, she sends Adam off to get her a drink while she looks for Dan. She finds him having a conversation with Nate and sways her hips over to them.

"Where is your slut of a girlfriend," she asks, giving him an insincere smile. Nate decides not to stick around and leaves them.

"I don't know, she booked it," Dan answers.

She shakes her head, not understanding what he means. "What do you mean she booked it?"

He sighs and scratches his chin in worry. "I don't think she's coming back."

For some reason, Blair can't help but be worried. No matter what happens between her and Serena, she will always care for her best friend and be there for her during the worst of times.

"What happened," she asks with worry clearly showing in her voice.

He sighs. "I don't want to get into it. It's between me and Serena, and please don't worry, I'll be leaving for L.A. tomorrow so you won't be seeing much of me."

He shakes his head and walks away from her. Even after everything, she feels torn. He's leaving again and god help her she doesn't want him to.

.

.

.

Dan's staring at Blair the whole night. He wishes it wasn't so obvious, but it doesn't feel like Blair minds. Her boyfriend Adam has been hounding him with questions of Hollywood and he finds it rather annoying.

A moment of having Blair alone arises and he excuses himself away from Adam to corner Blair against the wall. She doesn't seem to be pushing him away, so he steps closer and doesn't care what Adam is thinking.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't sleep with her," he says.

Blair tries to fight a smile. "Then what happened?"

"We kissed, it was harmless. Not that it should matter, seeing as how we aren't dating," he tells her and leans in just a little closer. "You don't own me."

She looks at him more serious than he had ever seen. "I do."

He can't help but smirk. "I think I better get out of here before Adam gets suspicious."

Dan leaves and he can feel her eyes on him. Stepping in the elevator, he sighs and shuts his eyes, banging the back of his head against the wall.

His eyes open once a familiar scent traces in the elevator. Blair's way too close for comfort and he's having trouble breathing with every step she's taking towards his direction.

"I need you," she whispers and slides her hand underneath Dan's jacket.

"No, you don't," he disagrees.

She takes his hand and leads it to her aching slick folds. "See how much I need you."

"Holy shit," he breathes, barley audible. "God you're wet."

She snuggles her nose against his neck. "I know. You're not going to leave me like this are you?"


End file.
